Just as an FYI, I didn’t get any ads at any point during the stream (well they cut away once for a few seconds when the horse fell down). I watched it live so it’s over, but no ads here. Hope you got to see them!
[QUOTE=Sometimes;7242441]
Just as an FYI, I didn’t get any ads at any point during the stream (well they cut away once for a few seconds when the horse fell down). I watched it live so it’s over, but no ads here. Hope you got to see them![/QUOTE]
Same for me, although I only caught the last few in the first round plus the jump off.
My feed went to endless repeating ads with 5 left to jump off. So who won?
Francois Mathy.
[QUOTE=MHM;7242458]
Francois Mathy.[/QUOTE]Thanks.
THANK YOU ALLTECH!
where did samantha sommers come from?!?! i’m sure she’s noteworthy, i just don’t follow west coast riders at all. she seems to be making quite the splash at indoors this year
The feed on my iPad over WiFi is beautiful!
is it just me, but other than the juniors who are there for the Maclay, I feel like I am watching some c show somewhere with very few entries. After watching perfect streaming, magnificent hunters, lovely presentations etc at Cap Ch, Harrisburg & W’ton-this is really disappointing. and everytime I see the stands they are empty. I am sad that our great national horse show has deteriorated to this…is it just too far to draw anyone?? could they move it to that lovely Cap Ch venue? and the streaming is just not acceptable. I have watched every show for two years and this is ridiculous. I love KY-one of my favorite places on earth-but this is what the third year? and it gets worse every year. it’s sad…
[QUOTE=culture shock;7242817]
is it just me, but other than the juniors who are there for the Maclay, I feel like I am watching some c show somewhere with very few entries. After watching perfect streaming, magnificent hunters, lovely presentations etc at Cap Ch, Harrisburg & W’ton-this is really disappointing. and everytime I see the stands they are empty. I am sad that our great national horse show has deteriorated to this…is it just too far to draw anyone?? could they move it to that lovely Cap Ch venue? and the streaming is just not acceptable. I have watched every show for two years and this is ridiculous. I love KY-one of my favorite places on earth-but this is what the third year? and it gets worse every year. it’s sad…[/QUOTE]
No one is really going to go during the week to watch the hunters, except a handful of horsey spectators and the exhibitors/their families. The same is true at all other indoor shows/Devon - the stands are not that full during anything other than the big night classes. The general public comes for the Grand Prix, and some may come to see the Maclay too.
Capital Challenge has a nice venue, but taking the NHS there would make both shows less special. Two different indoor finals with the same ring would be rather boring. They’ve really struggled with location for the NHS - I think Syracuse made the location more doable for everyone already on the east coast, plus more classes (low/medium jr jumpers, that 50k derby, a local day) to draw competitors. Obviously that didn’t work out, but they had the right idea there.
I think Kentucky could work, and will improve in the future if they try to make it a good show. For example, last year everyone complained about how boring the pre-show presentations were, so this year they brought out some parkour people to entertain the crowd (it’s a start I guess?)
I definitely agree about the streaming, hopefully next year USEFNetwork will be able to work with Alltech to improve the quality.
I think Syracuse was a much better show and it’s a shame it lost the Maclay to such an ordinary feeling show. Syracuse had a great feel to it and good entries, not to mention good production.
Also, I watched both the open speed and the grand prix last night and the stands were essentially empty. I realize it is a weeknight, but you aren’t going to land in a much horsier location.
[QUOTE=BostonHJ;7242847]
I think Syracuse was a much better show and it’s a shame it lost the Maclay to such an ordinary feeling show. Syracuse had a great feel to it and good entries, not to mention good production.
Also, I watched both the open speed and the grand prix last night and the stands were essentially empty. I realize it is a weeknight, but you aren’t going to land in a much horsier location.[/QUOTE]
Yes, the Syracuse venue was unique, since it was the only show all year at that location, not a place where there was a show week after week all year.
Plus they really promoted it well, and had the stands FULL of spectators several times a week.
I agree with the above posters, having the NHS in Syracuse was really cool. I even gasp went as an actual spectator and had a great time. The hunter’s weren’t popular there though either, but the atmosphere for the jumpers and Maclay was GREAT. Penn Nat’l and NHS need to figure out a way to shorten the schedule in the hunters, IMO. Watching the same people do 2 or 3 rounds can be boring for the most enthusiastic hunter fan. Or maybe they should only have stakes and a derby? It’s hard to make it feel special when they get to show a bunch of times. Maybe just an inherent flaw of the hunter championship system now. It seems like all that’s holding these indoor shows together are the Grand Prixs and the Medal Finals. Just some musing… I’m in my 20’s so I never saw the heydey of indoors, but it’s hard to construct prestige when nobody is even watching.
ETA Thank you to Alltech for listening to our feedback on the feed. It’s much better now : ) Everyone was quick to complain but there hasn’t been much appreciation for the improvement!
There’s still some bad feeling over moving it as they did a few years ago (3 years now?). However, it had a bad 15 years or so coming to be called the “Not So” National as it disappeared then popped up in a new location from Chelsea Piers to Florida. It was just starting to gain a foothold when it got yanked out of Syracuse.
That said, they have a shot at growing it if they offer such a nice, spacious (parking, stabling, rings) venue, a more central location and make exhibitors feel welcome and happy. So far, so good and this year looks like it’s getting better from what a few friends down there are saying.
Mid week spectating is problematic, kids in school, Halloween, football, pre season basketball practices and games at top ranked colleges within 90 minutes of each other will draw from what is essentially a very small city compared to the other Indoor venues. Also, these have been Ammie classes, Hunters:sleepy: (luv em, show them but average people want to see some excitement and if Hunter look exciting to a newbie, something is wrong) and Jumpers leading up to the weekend GP.
I think it can and will grow, give it time.
I think the national lost a lot of its luster, especially for hunters, when it left MSG. Syracuse was great as a jumper show, but the hunters were not well attended and not the best of the best the way it used to be at MSG.
It’s going to be hard to get people, especially the Northeast crowd, excited to go to Kentucky after an already long indoor circuit, unless they’re stopping through on the way to Florida. Otherwise it’s a long trip to show for just a few days and turn aronud and head back home. There’s a lot of prize money and a world cup qualifier to attract the jumpers, but there needs to be something else to attract the hunters to what is now just another show at the KHP. Maybe one big money classic that the division champions qualify for?
[QUOTE=refresh;7242873]
I agree with the above posters, having the NHS in Syracuse was really cool. I even gasp went as an actual spectator and had a great time. The hunter’s weren’t popular there though either, but the atmosphere for the jumpers and Maclay was GREAT. Penn Nat’l and NHS need to figure out a way to shorten the schedule in the hunters, IMO. Watching the same people do 2 or 3 rounds can be boring for the most enthusiastic hunter fan. Or maybe they should only have stakes and a derby? It’s hard to make it feel special when they get to show a bunch of times. Maybe just an inherent flaw of the hunter championship system now. It seems like all that’s holding these indoor shows together are the Grand Prixs and the Medal Finals. Just some musing… I’m in my 20’s so I never saw the heydey of indoors, but it’s hard to construct prestige when nobody is even watching.
ETA Thank you to Alltech for listening to our feedback on the feed. It’s much better now : ) Everyone was quick to complain but there hasn’t been much appreciation for the improvement![/QUOTE]
I have to agree with your comments on the Hunter classes and watching the same riders riding in every class within the division. But IMO…I know it’s the look and ease that the Hunters are supposed to reflect but in the hunt fiels if that is what they are emulating, do they really go at a snails pace? Personally, I like when there is more assertiveness and forwardness shown when going around the course and jumping. That to me paints a much nicer picture than some mopey drugged looking horse barely able to jump and the rider looking more like a passenger than a leader. I know it’s not a speed class but jeesh it’s not a how slow can we go class either…or maybe it is??? 
I would also like you to know that I had sent an email to Alltech yesterday and got a response for which I responded to them to let them know that their efforts were visible and how much better the feed is. They responded and thanked me for my response. So maybe others have done the same too since I know others emailed directly.
Re: Road Apples
You should watch the video of the recent Grand Prix Hunter Derby in CA, I think you can watch it on USEFNetwork. It’s the best example of hunters moving at a good pace that I’ve seen!
And you are way ahead of me, I haven’t emailed them directly at all 
I just noticed how quiet it got when the feed improved!
[QUOTE=Jumper221;7242890]
There’s a lot of prize money and a world cup qualifier to attract the jumpers, but there needs to be something else to attract the hunters to what is now just another show at the KHP. Maybe one big money classic that the division champions qualify for?[/QUOTE]
I wonder if they couldn’t move Derby Finals to the NHS. Of course, you’d either have to have it inside, or risk the outdoor November weather.
[QUOTE=refresh;7242926]
Re: Road Apples
You should watch the video of the recent Grand Prix Hunter Derby in CA, I think you can watch it on USEFNetwork. It’s the best example of hunters moving at a good pace that I’ve seen!
And you are way ahead of me, I haven’t emailed them directly at all I just noticed how quiet it got when the feed improved![/QUOTE]
Thanks, I’ll take a look at the videos.
I was thinking…why don’t they have preliminary classes for future GP jumpers? Training classes to give experience to those up and coming but not ready for the big time yet. I’m not talking Jr. or A/O jumpers. Maybe the professionals would like to have a venue for training and it could add some excitement to the daytime schedule. Probably a ring crew nightmare since the jumps are different… Maybe this already exists…???
I have to begin again by saying I absolutely love KY. but-having a show in the middle of nowhere accessible by an airport that requires for the most part a change in planes (dear god dreadful Charlotte) or an hours drive in Cincinnati-isn’t going to draw anyone, I feel, except exhibitors and their families. The WEG had trouble drawing the local crowd. When the NHS is in a city or within close proximity, regular folks attend. Syracuse did an exemplary job with that show-but again, except for exhibitors and families no one went-it’s not exactly the time of year people head to Syracuse for fun (brrrrr) Even if you watch the big, exciting jumper classes, one can see that no one is in the stands-they are essentially empty. So it isn’t a hunter problem. CapCh, Harrisburg and W’ton at least had locals coming to visit or dropping in for a big jumper class. Neither Syracuse or KY are near enough to major cities to draw anyone other than riders and families. I don’t think that will change in another year or in ten years. It’s too hard to get to, and the population (local) is largely students (UofKY) and the racing industry. The days of the Garden and black tie parties are behind us, and we need to let go of that, but how does the Royal manage to do it? or Arabian shows, or quarter horse shows? (could it be they are all in big cities?) We have the old guard sitting around in their formal attire, sipping wine pretending that all is lovely and chummy, but in the meantime-it’s an empty venue with automatic entry because not enough people even care to submit their entries. I certainly do not have the answer-but how about some fresh blood with some new ideas to bring this show back to some semblance of its former self. or at least put the Maclay at one of the other indoors (CapCh) where the kids who have worked for a year to get there have an audience to watch and cheer.
